Turn the Radian pro into a rocket

[I_AM_MARKEVANS]

Fit a 3536/1100kv, the 10x8 cam prom and a 40a esc. Even with the 1300 30-40c pack....

STRAIGHT UP! like, straight up and keep going.

No such thing as too much power.

[ken anderson.]

have fun-it wont last long..... ...

ken anderson......ne...1 last long/not dept.

[I_AM_MARKEVANS]

Won't anyway, crashed it again today

snapped the little tab off the plastic part the wing bolt goes through. Losing interest in these foam gliders quickly, wish i'd have bought something like the Specter 1800 from HK now.

Already fixed the tab with a spare wing mount i had. Might sell the airframe and motor for something like i mentioned above.

[Tangental]

Lol! Did you crash between postings? Lot of rapid air movement today I suppose, bigger donk's can't help with that.

Tangey

[Simon Chaddock]

Would the Specter 1800 be any more robust?

The general concensus is that foam resists most crashed better than a built up wood structure.

I prefer a staight up performance without resorting to 30-40C.

[Tangental]

Not a foamy fan myself but Simon has a point Mark, I noticed a few guys on this forum swear by the Pheonix 2000. Dunnoe really, not my cup of tea you see, I'm just in a chatty mood at the moment. Stripping back some of my oldies for refurb and where I used Pritt Stick for the plan pieces has gone mouldy over the years. Think I'm going to have to scrap a few.

[I_AM_MARKEVANS]

Haha i didnt, the crash had already happend by the first post.

Yeah i guess the foamies will 'bend' a bit more than the traditional wood models. I don't know what it is with the Pro, i just can't seem to get along with it, sold my 3ch version over the weekend which i really regret now! haha. Will just have to keep flying it and try to gel with it. Try not to crash it anymore, already on my 2nd body haha.

I didnt even know my packs were 30-40c originally, i must have clicked on the wrong ones when ordering, oh well, the higher rating can't hurt at all i guess. And i think they were only pence more expensive over the 20-30c ones.

And it only has the 3536 motor cause i wasnt going to had over £30 for the parkzone motor (stole it to put in the 3ch when i put a airframe together) £10 for the 3536 off ebay, although it is a bit over kill now with the 10x8 prop haha.

Next crash the pro is going though! either if it's the bin or sell the airframe after repair lol

[MarkB]

Dear all,

I recently purchased the PNP version of the Radian Pro from Gliders on the basis it would be quick to put together - which it is. Instructions are good and there is a low parts count for assembly of the basic airframe. The motor/ESC is all fitted plus the 4 x servos in the wings. All control linkages / horns are prefitted and just need connecting and adjustment.

However, as quite a few posts in other threads have commented, space is tight in both a cockpit radio bay (containing battery/ESC/Rx battery) and in the radio bay underneath the fuselage. Presumably this is to ensure the foam fuselage sides are strong/rigid enough - so I avoided the temptation to hollow out of the radio bays.

It takes certainly takes some thought and time to fit the battteries/RX/servo leads etc. Then there is additional time to get the flying surfaces operating correctly and TX programming.

I'm getting back into this hobby and certainly didn't manage to do this in the 30 minutes some people have quoted in other threads. I would say it's worth taking some time to get the radio installation right, so I would allow 4-6 hours depending on your experience level.

I didn't want the expense of purchasing the suggested E-flite 3S 1300Mah battery so used a 3S 2200Mah battery (to power the pre-installed motor) that I had already - this just fits into the cockpit radio bay with the ESC piggybacked on top - and will give additional endurance. I also want the Rx powered independently of the motor, so have opted to fit a 1200Mah RX battery in the cockpit radio bay.

I'm using Spektrum DX8 and its supplied AR8000 receiver. The smaller box of this receiver is mounted on top of the fuselage - this is good so one can see a solid orange binding light and the two antennae can be fully extended. The main RX box is pushed right up inside the radio bay underneath the fuselage - all servo leads need attaching first. This means it is well protected from water and the servo leads don't interfere with the elevator/rudder servos. This model will not have the wings removed for transport.

I'm not sure about foam models yet (they didn't exist when I first started this hobby), but the wings seem strong and quite flexible (just like real gliders).

However, I have real concerns about the strength and lack of rigidity where the fuselage meets the tailplane. There is a single strip of reinforcement running along the centreline underneath the fuselage. This doesn't provide any torsional rigidity to the tail surfaces. I intend to strengthen the fuselage and make it more rigid and I'm using two 1 mm ply strips (30 cm long x 1 cm wide), which will be epoxied along the outside of the fuselage - one on each side at a 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position when looking along the length of the fuselage.

I hope to complete this modification and complete set up in the next few weeks - as work committments allow.

Any one else have any thoughts on fuselage strength / rigidity of the Radion Pro?

I'm used to the rigidity of balsa/ply models such as Chris Foss's phase 6, so I am perhaps being over cautious?

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Hi Mark and welcome to the forum.

I've no experience of the Radian Pro, but I'm sure someone who knows the model will be along shortly.

[dav84]

I have had my pro for almost 2 years now. I haven't had any issues with it in flight, only the tight radio bay when rigging it up.

I feel the power is fine, no need to rocket up. I have manage a flight time of 1 hour with thermals and still had 55% left in the battery that comes with the BNF.

[Flite08]

Radian Pro mods